© MCT/LandovLucky dog: Sid the 5-year-old Leonberger was rescued by his owner from an animal clinic in Texas where he spent six months locked up in a cage and used for blood transfusions
Dr Millard Lucien 'Lou' Tierce, 71, turned himself in at the Tarrant County Jail at around Wednesday and was later released on $10,000 bail.
His veterinary license has been suspended by the state pending an investigation.
According to the suspension order, officials inspecting Tierce's popular Camp Bowie Animal Clinic found 'unsanitary conditions, animal organs kept in jars, bugs in exam rooms, open and unsecured medications' strewn about the office along with laundry and pieces of paper.
They also discovered that five pets the veterinarian had accepted for euthanasia were still alive, one of them kept in a cage for two or three years. Three dogs rescued from the veterinary office by police were described as being in 'such a decrepit shape' that they had to be euthanized to put an end to their suffering.
Tierce told investigators that two of the pooches had been brought to the clinic by their owners to be put to sleep, but according to state records, the 71-year-old doctor believed that the decision was his to make.
A third dog, a black and white border collie that belonged to Tierce himself, was discovered twitching in pain inside a box left in an exam room. One of the animal's legs was missing, another was dislocated, and the collie also had two dislocated shoulders.
When questioned by police, Dr Tierce said that he gave the collie food and water, but withheld medical treatment. 'He said he had not euthanized the dog even though in his professional opinion he knew it needed to be,' the documents state.
© CBS Confession: Tierce, pictured on the day of his arrest, admitted to keeping alive five dogs that had been brought to the clinic by their owners to be put down
The border collie was later put to sleep by another veterinarian, who examined her and concluded that the animal was emaciated, had severe mouth disease, cataracts, and degenerative neurological disorder, among other ailments.
A lab technician also told investigators that several animals were kept in cages for nearly 24 hours a day so experiments could be performed on them.
Tierce had received his veterinary license in 1966, and until this week, he had a spotless record. The Texas State Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners is expected to convene in Austin for an emergency meeting to discuss Tierce's fate in the medical profession.
His license suspension order stated that Tierce repeatedly violated the Veterinary Licensing Act and is a 'continuing threat and real danger' to the health of his patients and to the public.
In a written statement to investigators, Tierce acknowledged that his clinic was unsanitary and that he had kept five animals that should have been euthanized, according to the board's report. But the report doesn't specify if he explained why he kept the animals.
The shocking allegations against the beloved local veterinarian came to light after Marian and James Harris, of Aledo, discovered that their 5-year-old Leonberger named Sid has been living in a cage at the clinic for the past six months and tapped for blood transfusions.
© CBS11Reunited: Marian Harris rescued Sid from the animal clinic after being tipped off that her dog was not put down six months ago
But last Monday, the woman got a call from a former employee at the animal clinic telling her that her dog has been kept alive in a cage for the past six months. In a scene straight out of the 1992 family classic Beethoven, Marian Harris and her husband, Jamie, marched down to the animal clinic and discovered Sid imprisoned in a pen in a back room.
'The betrayal is so incredibly intense that nothing you have prepares you for the emotions. There's anger, there's joy that you have your dog back, there's betrayal of this intense trust. And so it's just really hard to camp on one particular emotion,' Harris told CBS DFW.
The mother of two from Aledo said her pet, which was supposedly terminally ill, was able to walk and jump into her minivan on his own when she came to rescue him. The family drove the pooch to another clinic, where a veterinarian determined that Sid did not need to be put down at all.
'It was like getting punched in the stomach and then some,' Marian Harris told the station NBC DFW. 'This has rocked our world. My kids are like, "How does somebody do this?" How does this happen?"'
On Tuesday, police officers descended on Camp Bowie clinic in the 5700 block of Lovell Avenue and seized two more dogs as evidence.
Late Wednesday afternoon, Dr Tierce spoke out in his own defense, calling the Harris family's claims as 'a bunch of hooey.' Speaking to the Star Telegram, the veteran medic said that it was Mrs Harris who wanted her dog euthanized, but he could not bring himself to do it.
Tierce also said Mary Brewer, who contacted the Harris family about their dog, was just a disgruntled former employee who wanted to get back at him. The former Camp Bowie staffer, however, insisted that she quit her job because she could not continue working in a place where animals are mistreated.
Since the story broke Wednesday, clients have been visiting Dr Tierce's clinic to find out what really happened to their pets. One of the people concerned for the fate of their pets was Rebecca Pierce, a yoga instructor from Fort Worth.
Mrs Pierce filed a complaint yesterday stating that last May, she was told by Dr Tierce that her dog named Maxina has died.
The veterinarian handed her a box allegedly containing the animal's ashes, but he never billed her for any services, MyFox DFW reported.
Pearce's compliant also says that staff at Camp Bowie clinic told her that there were no records of Maxina's cremation.
© MCT/LandovTogether again: The Harris family, (L-R) Jamie, Cole, Case, Marian pose with their dog Sid at their home Saturday, April 26, following their unexpected reunion
By October, Sid's condition has deteriorated to the point where he could not lift his hind legs and had to drag his body on the ground.
Around that time, Dr Tierce allegedly informed the owners that their dog had a congenital spinal defect, and the best course of action would be to put him down because there was no cure for his condition. The veterinarian even kindly offered to bury the 5-year-old Leonberger on his farm.
The family gave Tierce the green light to euthanize Sid, and even brought their son, Cole, to the clinic to say his final farewell to the four-legged friend. 'So I brought him [Cole] in and had our tearful goodbyes, and we went over very specifically our plans for burial of Sid, and that was the end of it,' Marian Harris recalled.
© CBS11Former clinic worker Mary Brewer called the Harris family to tell them that their dog was alive and used for experiments
'I remember coming in and them extracting blood from Sid, and basically shaving him, extracting his blood for the other animal upstairs,' Brewer said to MyFox DFW, adding that the dog was kept locked up almost the whole time, denied treatment and he had been injured by another worker.
According to the Harrises' complaint, 'The clinic was using Sid (and other dogs) for blood transfusions and other experimental treatments.'
The Harris family's lawyer, James Eggleston, wrote that Dr Tierce also harvested organs of some pets in his care and has kept one dog alive nearly five years for the purpose of using his blood and plasma.
According to the lawyer, at least a dozen former clinic workers and clients have come forward with information on Dr Tierce's misconduct dating back to 1997, the Weatherford Democrat reported.
Ms Brewer explained that she did not go to police right away because she has a criminal record, which could have undermined her credibility.
When Marian Harris stormed into the clinic and found Sid living in a cage, covered in his own urine and feces, she confronted Dr Tierce about the deceit. 'He said, "I didn't put him down because my staff said they would quit if I did,"' said Mrs Harris.
The veterinarian who evaluated Sid after his dramatic rescue found that the 5-year-old dog had mange and showed 'definite signs of having been used for blood transfusions.'
In a brief phone interview with MailOnline Wednesday afternoon, Jamie Harris said that Sid is currently resting at home and is in 'reasonable health.'
According to Sid's owner, the pooch still has rehabilitation ahead of him, but an MRI has confirmed that he never had a congenital spinal defect.
Mary Brewer revealed that there was also a cat that Dr Tierce was supposed to put down because he had abscess in his mouth and could not eat. 'Dr Tierce changed his name to Graling, had us put him in the dog ward and left him there, and this time that I came back in in 2013, he's still there,' said the former clinic staffer.
it's nice to know that the more things change, the more they stay the same.... except perhaps for these stories seeing the light of day, more than can be said for the animals affected.